Families at Harare Collection Point Again Lose Their Shelters

Displaced families transferred to the Caledonia Farm holding camp outside Mabvuku, Harare, after the destruction of their homes were left homeless again Thursday as police tore down their makeshift homes in the camp itself. Timothy Mubawu, MDC Member of Parliament for Tafara Mabvuku,said police who were heavily armed and accompanied by a bulldozer leveled shacks and detained residents.

Studio 7 was unsuccessful in its efforts to obtain comment from police in Mabvuku. Calls were referred to Assistant Inspector Dambaza who was not available. Some thousands of people have been dumped at Caledonia Farm in the past few weeks, but aid organizations say there are no proper sanitation facilities and often no running water.

One source with an international relief organization, who declined to be named, said the organization has been approached by a number of churches seeking food to distribute to people at the farm. Another NGO source says police stated that they intended to hold people at Caledonia Farm for only three days. But it was not clear if this was the case.

Studio 7 reporter Patience Rusere spoke with parliamentarian Mubawu, who observed the destruction of makeshift dwellings at Caledonia Farm on Thursday morning, about the plight of those being held there.